Strawberry Pie Stabbing by DuMont Diana

Author:DuMont, Diana
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The next day I went straight home after I closed the café. I needed a break from my detective work, and besides, I didn’t know what other detective work there was to do at the moment. I’d talked to everyone I could think of, and I didn’t feel like I was any closer to solving Crystal’s murder. I thought that maybe a relaxing evening at home would give me the space I needed to think of a next step.

But even after I’d gotten home, turned on some jazz music, and poured myself a generous glass of wine, I still couldn’t relax. My mood seemed to affect Sprinkles. He paced back and forth across the room, whining and coming over to nuzzle me every few moments to make sure I was okay.

Was I okay?

I wasn’t sure. This whole stabbing business had unsettled me. What if the murderer was still out there? What if they knew that I was looking for them? Were they going to knock me off next to be on the safe side?

My thoughts were interrupted by the loud, shrill sound of my phone ringing. I nearly knocked over my glass at the fright it gave me. Sprinkles gave another low whine as the cell phone’s ring repeated.

When I looked down at the caller ID, I saw that it was a San Francisco number that I didn’t recognize. I was afraid of getting stuck on a call with someone I didn’t want to talk to, and considered not answering. But my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to see who it was.

“Hello?”

“Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid I had the wrong number, or that I wouldn’t be able to get a hold of you.”

“Sorry, who’s this?” The voice sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it.

“Oh, how very rude of me! This is Ella. Ella Davis. The friend of the girl who was stabbed in your pie shop a few days ago.”

As if I needed to be reminded.

I wondered how she’d gotten my cell number. I didn’t recall giving it to her, and I wasn’t that excited to talk to her now. But I did my best to sound polite. “Ella, how are you?”

“I’m all right, considering. I’m back in the city and busy at work. I was upset at first that I had to come back so quickly, but I have to admit that it’s been nice to have something to take my mind off of things.”

“Glad to hear it’s at least helping a little bit,” I said. “What can I do for you?”

There was a slight pause, as though she wasn’t sure whether she really wanted to say what she was about to say. I waited nervously, thinking that she was about to drop some big bombshell on me.

“Do you remember Alex?” she finally asked.

“Yes, of course. Crystal’s fiancé.”

There was a sigh of relief on the other line. “Right. Well, I don’t know if you knew this, but he’s still in Sunshine Springs.

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